Insect trap assembly

Abstract

An insect trap assembly comprises a collection cup having a circumferential side wall, a bottom and an open flared top. The open flared top has a flared surface and a flared end outside diameter. The assembly further comprises at least one funnel for guiding any insects into the collection cup. The funnel has a top opening inside diameter and a bottom opening inside diameter. The flared end outside diameter of the collection cup is smaller than the funnel's top opening inside diameter, but it is greater than the funnel's bottom opening inside diameter. This allows the collection cup to be positioned within the funnel in a capture arrangement. The insect trap assembly may also be provided with a plurality of spoked panel support members so as to allow the insect trap assembly to support a plurality of panels in combination with the at least one funnel.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a regular application of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 297,689 filed Feb. 19, 2016 and entitled, “INSECT TRAP”, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]Embodiments provided herein relate to methods and apparatus for capturing insects, more particularly an insect trap assembly to efficiently capture varieties of wood boring, bark and ambrosia beetles, as well as their predators and parasites.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Entomologists study insects' habitats and how insects evolve. They also develop ways to control harmful insects, research and control insect-borne diseases, and discover and study new species of insects. In many cases, the most effective way to study insects is to trap them in their natural environment. There are many different methods and apparatus used to trap insects, however, scientists are always looking to more easily and efficientl...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent is for an insect trap assembly that includes a collection cup with a flared top and a funnel for guiding insects into the cup. The assembly is designed to catch as many insects as possible using the flared surface and the cup's size and shape. The technical effects of this design are better trapping efficiency and easy installation.

Problems solved by technology

In addition to the bottom funnel mold being complex, the current bottom funnel product has a 1.5 cm wide horizontal ridge inside the funnel which often interrupts insects' slide into the collection cup, thereby providing significant opportunities for insects to escape.

After years of field use, original traps occasionally suffered broken “legs” leading to the modular “leg”, where funnels were molded separately from the legs.

However the “leg” mating in the keyhole structures of the Lindgren style funnel require significant force to install.

Replacing a single broken “leg” in the field is relatively easy; however, assembling 10's or hundreds of 12 unit multiple funnel traps during manufacturing is exceptionally fatiguing, even when using a specialized tool.

New trap users sometimes have difficulty mounting the insect collection cup to the bottom of the funnel.

Often times, there are small plastic tabs for locking the collection cup to the funnel, that when misaligned, can shear off when installing the collection cups.

However, it has been found that in windy conditions an insect trap assembly will swing and bang against the support rod, thereby slow loosening (or unthreading) the collection cup from the assembly.

Collection cups with bungs or having plastic mesh molded into the insect collection cup are expensive features when alternating the trap from “wet” trapping to “dry” trapping.

However, these cross vane traps also tend to act like kites in high winds.

Very large traps, while very effective at capturing large wood boring beetles, are not only expensive to manufacture but also very cumbersome to deploy in the field, and would require yet another plastic mold for a third (larger) funnel design.

While these traps have been useful, they are cumbersome to deploy since the sticky surface is on the outside of the trap.

Ultimately sticky traps are not selective and trap unwanted debris and non-target insects.

Compared to reusable trap designs, sticky traps are expensive as they are single season use at best.

Moreover it is difficult to remove insects from the adhesive for detailed examination.

Images